Podoconiosis, Caused By Volcanic Minerals, Mistaken For Elephantiasis In Western Ugandan Outbreak

Apr 11, 2017

New York Times: Volcanic Minerals, Not Worms, Caused Disease Outbreak in Uganda
“Medical detectives in western Uganda recently discovered that the wrong culprit had been blamed for an outbreak of crippling elephantiasis — legs so swollen that they resemble those of an elephant. As it turned out, one rare, neglected tropical disease had been mistaken for another. … The researchers realized that they were facing something even rarer than worm disease: The victims had podoconiosis, a disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soils…” (McNeil, 4/10).